At the Burrow, the Beginning of Healing
by enterprisefan13
Summary: At the Burrow, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley have a bonding moment over cooking, Ron enjoys breakfast and hand holding! If you want me to continue, just let me know in a review!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I haven't written a story in just about forever, because I am a Sophomore in college, and yeah. But I think this will be a great story, so please read and review!

Hermione inched her way down into the kitchen of the Burrow. It had been just a few days since the Battle, and she still didn't feel like her old self. She wasn't even sure what that meant "her old self." The Battle hadn't only changed her, but the War had changed her. Who was she? She wasn't sure that question could ever be answered, as she grasped the back of a chair and gingerly maneuvered into it. Her bones still ached from the curses thrown at her, but she was still alive. Survivor's guilt began to envelop her as her thoughts surrounded her. It was a nudge that suddenly brought her back. "You alright dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked her voice gentle as she hugged Hermione by placing an arm over her shoulders, and placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"As good as I think I could be." Hermione answered. Mrs. Weasley looked at her for a brief moment, before nodding. She moved toward the oven, then summoned eggs, bacon, and bread for breakfast. They remained in a comfortable silence before Hermione broke it. "Mrs. Weasley?"

"Hm?" she said, distractingly making sure that all the ingredients were being put together correctly.

"Can I help you make breakfast? After being on the run for a year, I'm not used to just sitting still..." Mrs. Weasley started to protest but Hermione interrupted saying, "plus the food I cooked was, um, maybe not the best? Not that I had a choice." She defended, as the first small grin since the Battle began to form on Mrs. Weasley's face. She nodded, motioning Hermione over.

"Sure dear, besides I think a distraction will do us both good." She said. She pulled out the cook book she didn't usually have to use, as she had it memorized by memory, but knew Hermione needed to see it. "See here, it says that we need two eggs per person, we have ten people, well fifteen if we count Ron. I usually cook for way more than that anyway…" She trailed off. "…I suppose it's not ten people anymore… without Fred." The happiness that had suddenly on her face disappeared almost as fast as it had appeared. "I keep forgetting…" Hermione looked up from the cook book, unsure of what to do. She had seen Mrs. Weasley angry, worried, and motherly, but never in such pain. This woman was the best mother she knew. She decided she would return the favor that Mrs. Weasley had given her, and hugged her tightly. At first Mrs. Weasley responded with confusion, before holding tightly onto Hermione. Her shoulders began to quake with sobs, and before Hermione realized it; tears were streaming down her face as well. They stayed hugging for what felt like an eternity, and only a moment at the same time. Mrs. Weasley was the first to pull away, wiping under her eyes to relieve them of moisture. "Well… I still have six children I need to feed, eight if you count you and Harry dear." She said, repositioning herself with her wand.

"Are you sure? I can finish." Hermione said, clearly worried. Mrs. Weasley turned to her, a sad look on her face.

"I cannot stop taking care of my children Hermione, even though I have lost one. I still have six that need to be loved, even though we are so much pain." She answered. Hermione could not believe the strength of this woman, who had not only the strength to continue, but the strength to take care of her children. "And quite frankly dear, I don't think that Ron could handle your food, he is quite picky." Hermione giggled at that.

"You are quite right. He has missed this home cooked meal very much." Mrs. Weasley grinned full out at this statement, instructing her wand to cut up the loaf.

"He fancies you, you know." Mrs. Weasley said, without looking up. Hermione blushed, not at the fact that she didn't know this fact already, but because Mrs. .Weasley had actually said it out loud, and she didn't know about the kiss, she thought. "Life's too short to not tell someone you love them." At this she turned full onto Hermione. "You know about the first War of course, correct?"

"Yes, of course. It's how this all began, Harry and all."

"And it is when Arthur and I decided to get married. For all we knew it was the end of the world, and I sure didn't want to not marry the man I loved just because we might die. Even if we were married mere moments, it would have been worth it. I wanted to marry him, because I didn't want to miss a moment dear." Hermione remembered that rush when she jumped in Ron's arms. In that moment she thought that if they were going to die, she wanted to kiss him. It was the one thing she wanted to experience before she died.

"I know the feeling." She murmured, but Mrs. Weasley heard it anyway.

"We're not in the War anymore, but the War has shown us that life is too precious to wait around for the perfect moment. There is no perfect moment." Mrs. Weasley said, placing a hand on Hermione's arm. "I know that this is all happening quickly, but you've been best friends for seven years, and fighting off feelings for each other for at least three of them." She said without missing a beat.

"Was it really that obvious?" Hermione groaned.

"Well, I am his mother."

It was this sight of Mrs. Weasley and Hermione working side by side that Ron encountered in the kitchen. From his room he could smell the bacon, and resisted the urge to nudge Harry awake. For the first time in years, Harry wasn't waking up screaming with visions from You-Know-Who. He deserved to sleep, however brief it was before he too smelled the bacon. Ron had tried to smooth his hair, and brush his teeth before coming downstairs. He didn't change out of his pajamas though. He tried to quietly walk down the squeaky stairs, before leaning against the door frame. His Mum and Hermione were chatting away, not noticing his presence. He was happy to see that they were relaxed, not thinking about the Battle for once. He realized his Mum looked thinner than he remembered, and he didn't like that. Hermione looked thin too of course, but he had become accustomed to it, but not for the way his Mum looked. When this bloody thing was done with, and he finally had money, he was determined to provide for her. "Ron, c'mon you're blocking the door." Ginny's voice said, startling him, his Mum, and Hermione. He moved out of the door way, sheepishly.

"Sorry Gin, didn't realize you were there." He said. She shrugged before sitting down. Hermione turned to look at him timidly.

"Morning Ron, guess you smelled the bacon?" She asked.

"Of course I did, did Mum help you make it?" He asked, finally peeling himself away from the door frame to the oven. He looked over his Mum's shoulder but she batted away his hand when he reached for a piece. He hugged her, much to her surprise. "Looks delicious Mum."

"Just so you know, I helped a lot, didn't I Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione said defensively

"Of course you did dear. Where's Harry?" She questioned Ron, an eye brow raised. He turned to the stairs and bellowed up.

"ANY ONE WHO IS HUNGRY BREAKFAST IS ABOUT TO BE SERVED."

"That's not quite what I meant." Mrs. Weasley said, placing a plate of toast on the table.

"Gets the job done though, doesn't it?" Ron said, reaching for a few pieces of toast. A few moments later Harry, Percy, Charlie, Bill and Fleur, and George groggily made their way into the kitchen.

"Thanks for the wakeup call mate." Harry said sarcastically.

"You're welcome." He answered in the same tone, earning him a pretend whack from Harry. Harry sat down next to Ginny, and across from Ron. "Go ahead mate, there's bacon, toast, and eggs."

"I don't know if I feel too hungry." Harry said.

"Deary, if I have to eat, you have to eat." Mrs. Weasley said.

When the food was all on the table, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley joined the group. Mr. Weasley was gone on some business, but would return home. The only empty chair was Fred's, a stark reminder of the Battle. Suddenly Harry held up a glass full of pumpkin juice, "To Fred!" he said, and the others responded, "To Fred!" before diving into their food.

Hermione gingerly moved her hand closer and closer to Ron's until it her pinky was touching his. Without saying a word and without looking at her, Ron turned his hand over and laced his fingers together with Hermione's. He then placed there intertwined hands on his lap for the rest of the meal.

A/N: I actually may continue this to after the meal, with a kiss? Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So, seems like a few people like this story. If you do, and want to see more, just leave a review!

Chapter 2

After dinner the family began to slink away from the table, and each other. First it was Harry, mumbling something about needing to change his clothes. Ginny wasn't far behind, saying she too needed to get changed, but it was fairly obvious to everyone where she was going. She and Harry had a lot to catch up on, and no one wanted to make things worse. After the tail end of her red hair rounded the door frame, George left the table, sending a wink at Ron, although the smirk didn't quite reach his eyes. The others were quick to follow George, each kissing Mrs. Weasley's cheeks before ascending the stairs. After this scattering, only Ron, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley were left in the kitchen. Ron and Hermione's hands were still clasped under the table. They stared awkwardly at each other, unsure of what to say. Ron opened his mouth, paused, then ran a hand through his hair and lowered his eyes to stare at his plate. Hermione opened her mouth after this, but couldn't find the words of what to say, and also turned her eyes to her plate. It was Mrs. Weasley who saved them from the silence. Previously she had been busying herself with cleaning, trying to watch her son's love life too closely. "Ron, why don't you go get changed? I have a few chores you need to complete." Her voice shattered the silence. Ron and Hermione looked up quickly at her, as though her presence at been completely forgotten. Ron nodded slowly, glancing at Hermione. She stared back at him, searching his face. After a moment she nodded slightly, and then smiled widely at Mrs. Weasely.

"Great idea, Mrs. Weasely. I'm sure the distraction will do us some good." Hermione's voice said meekly. She edged off the chair, and, to Mrs. Weasley's surprise, Ron was following her, connected by their intertwining hands. Hermione began to ascend the stairs, but Ron abruptly pulled away his hand. Hermione raised an eye brow, but seemed to search his face again and ascended the stairs. Ron turned, and before Mrs. Weasley could react, his arms were around her, his face in her shoulder. She uncertainly placed her arms around him, before she felt his body shake with what she knew were tears. She placed a hand on his head, gently brushing through the strands. They said nothing for what seemed like years; him crying into her shoulder, and her comforting him. He gently pulled back from her, the tears rolling off his nose. She resisted the urge to wipe the tears from his eyes. He leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. She placed a hand on his cheek.

"It's alright Ron, to fall in love even as you miss Fred." She whispered, marveling in his sudden widened eyes. Didn't he realize that she was his mother and would always know these things? To her surprise he didn't scoff or turn pink. His face turned serious as he huffed down in the chair he had previously been sitting in. He ran both hands through his hair before staring pleading up at her.

"It's just it's happened during all of this. I should be thinking about Fred and this family, not..." he waved widely around, "snogging Hermione." He ended the last bit in a quiet voice. "And besides, maybe she only kissed me because we could have died." He wasn't even looking at Mrs. Weasley anymore.

'So that's it.' She thought to herself, lowering herself into the chair opposite of her youngest son.

"I mean, why not Harry?" she opened her mouth the reply, but before she could, Ron had already plowed on to his next point, "Besides, it's not even like you and Dad wanted me. You wanted a daughter, and all you got was another stupid son." The tips of his ears were pinkening as he took a sudden interest in a pattern on the table. Mrs. Weasley took a sharp breath in, tear forming in the corners of her eyes. How could Ron think that? She loved him as much as any of the other children. She supposed that because Ginny was the only girl she got special treatment… no, she definitely did get special treatment. She observed Ron closely, him still pretending that the table pattern was the most interesting thing in the world. Where had her little boy gone? She could barely remember the last time he got to act like a child. The moment he became Harry Potter's best friend, his childhood ended. There was never a time that he wasn't fleeing from You-Know- Who. And yet he wasn't the one covering the paper, Harry was. And yet he never expressed this, he was never the jokester that George and Fred were, and he wasn't like Charlie or Bill. And that's when it hit her; he had slipped through the cracks. Her youngest son had slipped through the cracks. She placed her hand on his gently, but he didn't respond.

"Not Harry because she wants to be with you." Her voice was firm, but her gaze was gentle. His eyes were pleading with her to continue, so she tried to keep her voice steady. "You aren't stupid Ron, and you were wanted." He rolled his eyes at this, but she continued, "you are not like your other siblings, and that just makes you, you. You are Ron, and you, not your other siblings helped defeat You- Know-Who. I'm sorry if you ever felt like the odd child out."

"But how could Hermione, even… I mean, we almost died."

"Ronald Weasley, if you try to tell me you two haven't been tiptoeing around your feelings for years, I'm going to box your eyes." She said simply. The sides of Ron's mouth began to curve up at this statement.

"Yeah?" He asked hopefully, his eyes full of hope. She placed her hand the cheek of her son that had had to grow up too fast.

"Yes." Came her simple answer. Ron seemed to take a stabilizing breath He jumped up from the table in a sudden rush of energy. He seemed to think twice as he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. He turned to run up the stairs, "don't forget to change out your pajamas!" she yelled up the stairs after him. Her little boy was all grown up, and in love.

Less than ten minutes later Ron was tumbling out of his room in a jumper and jeans. He was combing his hands through his hair hazardly.

"Headed somewhere, mate?" came Harry's voice from Ron's room. Ron could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Sod off. " He replied, unable to keep the smile out his tone. He nearly ran to Ginny's room, hoping Hermione might be in the room. Taking another stabilizing breath, he knocked on the door tentatively. No response. He knocked harder; no response. He was beginning to think she was ignoring him, so he turned to leave, running right into a something that said "oomph". Hermione looked up at him from his chest, her cheeks turning that cute shade of pink that they did. "Sorry." He mumbled, moving out of the way so she could enter the room. She gestured for him to enter the room as well, but he shook his head, opting to stand in the door way. Hermione packed away some laundry, and shuffled some books from her bag into a bookcase. She seemed to be stalling for time. "So… um…" She turned at this, watching him expectantly.

"Yes?" she said almost breathlessly. He seemed to have lost his nerve, now just smiling at her. She sighed. "We're rubbish at this." With a plop she landed on the bed. Ron now joined her on the bed, plopping next to her.

"We are, aren't we?"Ron mumbled, half glancing at her. Then they burst out into laughter, holding their sides. As they calmed down they realized exactly how close their faces were. Their faces burst into blushes as they pushed themselves up into a sitting position, Hermione hiding her face behind her knees. "It happened, right? I'm not just making it up?" That caused Hermione to chuckle.

"Of course it happened." She giggled, earning herself a glare from Ron.

"Well we haven't talked about it." He shrugged. "I thought maybe it was just a mistake." Hermione put her hand out, but Ron ignored it. She turned to face him on the bed.

"I didn't mention it because I didn't think you wanted to talk about it…" He now turned to look at her. "With everything that happened, I thought that maybe you didn't want to actually have done it." She ended, blushing furiously.

"I thought it was you who didn't mean it." He responded.

"I'm the bloody one who kissed you!" She said, sounding almost angry. Ron's eyes widened at her swearing. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"We make quite the pair don't we?" Hermione scooted closer to him. "We can't even tell each other we like each other after we already kissed."

"You like me?" she whispered. He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at this question. Liked her? Yeah, she could say that. What he felt was more than friendship. He just never thought she felt that she could possibly feel the same. But he simply responded,

"Yeah." She paused, and Ron had the sinking feeling that he had said the wrong thing.

"Me too." She said after a long pause. He couldn't resist the urge to crack a joke at her misuse of grammar.

"You like yourself?" that earned him a smack on the arm, but eased the tension. He rubbed the spot on his arm. She could hit a lot harder than he thought.

"You know what I meant." There it was again, that awkward silence.

"Yeah." He wished that he could be that romantic guy that Hermione deserved and probably wanted, but he was just Ron, the best friend to Harry Potter. He made to get up off the bed, but Hermione grabbed his arm.

"Don't go." She begged. He slid back onto the bed, uncertain of how he was supposed to act. Hermione seemed like she hadn't thought this through either. But she let out an angry sight. "This isn't how this was supposed to go!" Ron leaned back as she said this. "Why can't we ever be simple…" she was starting to rant, which was unbelievably cute to Ron. She was ranting about how she thought that for once in their life they could talk about their feelings without being scared about it; and before he realized it, he had cupped her face in his hands. Her ranting stopped as she looked up into his eyes. It felt like the world had stopped around them, and it was just the two of them. He didn't feel awkward anymore, he didn't feel obsolete anymore. He didn't have any more time to wait before starting at her would just be awkward, so building all the Gryffindor bravery he could muster, he leaned in.

Her lips were soft against his. At first the kiss was gentle, before Hermione grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him in. He opened his mouth a little, and her top lip fit perfectly in between his two lips, her bottom up under his bottom lip. He combed his fingers through her busy hair, reveling in the feeling he never thought he would feel. It felt like their kiss had been endless, but finally they pulled away. Their faces were still over inches apart, and he knew he looking at her lips. "So, does that make me your girlfriend?" Hermione teased.

"You tell me." He said, leaning in more confidently this time, a hand on her lower back side.

A/N: If you liked this, please review, and shoot me a prompt!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: If anyone is out there, please review. I'm so sorry about the wait. I was on winter break, and I work at McDonald's, and I was always busy. If you are out there, please review!

Chapter 3

There was a sudden, loud noise that caused Ron and Hermione to jump apart quickly. "Wha…." Ron began, but stopped suddenly as his eyes adjusted. Ginny stood in the doorway of her room, her mouth opened. If he didn't know better, Ron would have thought that she had been petrified. The only sign of life was her eyes swiveling between Ron and Hermione, who were now sitting next to each other, their hands intertwined. She pointed back and forth between them.

"Uh," she continued pointing "Uh-" she was trying to talk, but only managed these few sounds, still looking shocked. There was a second bang as Harry stumbled into the back of her. He rubbed is head, looking confused.

"Gin, what…" He started, before looking over her shoulder. The grin that grew on his face stretched from ear to ear. "Oh yeah, didn't I tell you?" Ginny now rounded on Harry, an eye brow lifted. "They got together during the Battle!" he spit out, in an attempt to stop Ginny from shouting. Now she turned back to Ron and Hermione; Harry looked relieved. For a moment they just stared at each other, unblinking. Then Ginny gave a squeal and came running into the room. She threw herself at Hermione, who had to release Ron's hand in order not to hit her head from the impact. She wrapped an arm around Ginny, looking bemused. Ginny pulled back, and then said in a breathless voice,

"Thank god the two of you finally came to your senses!" She dodged a smack from Ron. "What? It's not like we haven't all known for years you know. Right, Harry?" She asked. Harry looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there at that moment. He rubbed the back of his head, avoiding looking at Ginny, who was now glaring at him. "Harry…" she began. He put his hands up in defeat.

"Alright, alright. You have to admit, it was sort of obvious, since, about fourth year." He said sheepishly. Ginny nodded.

"Honestly, I thought that the two of you would've jumped each other over this past year. Merlin knows the sexual tension has been disgusting the past few years."

"Well they didn't, which I'm not complaining about, as I was there the whole time." Harry said. Ron and Hermione rolled their eyes at this.

"Good to know you lot keep tabs on our relationship." Hermione jabbed, sitting back up now.

"Aha, so you admit it's a relationship?!"Said Ginny, punching the air. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other, the corner of their lips turning upwards.

"Yeah, actually, that's what you just interrupted." Said Ron, a look of disgust now forming on Ginny's face. "We were just, 'finalizing' being in a relationship."

"Ugh, too much information." Said Ginny, her face scrunched in a look of utter disgust. And, as if to prove it, Ron leaned in quickly towards Hermione, and pecked her on the lips. He pulled back, ears pink, but a pleased look on his face. He wrapped an arm around Hermione as though they had done it hundreds of times before. Hermione looked pleasantly pink, while Ginny looked torn between being pleased for her friend, and disgusted at her brother kissing someone. Harry had seen their first kiss, so he wasn't too disgusted by a simple peck. He and Ginny took a seat across from Ron and Hermione, and copied their position.

"Just don't make me the third wheel anymore than you already do." He said seriously.

"As long as we aren't the third wheel to you and Ginny." Ron retorted.

"Deal." They sat in comfortable silence. This was the first time they had had time all together alone. Immediately following the Battle, the Weasleys plus Harry and Hermione had stayed together in a tight knit group. But now that they were alone, they could Ginny everything without the chance of Mrs. Weasley over hearing. When they got to the part of when Ron left them, Ginny was understandably upset. She stood up, appearing as though she might strike Ron.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" She screamed, ready to pounce. Harry leapt up, grabbed her arms and practically sat on her to restrain her to the bed.

"He came back, alright? He made up for it." Harry explained how Ron had saved his life, and talked about the locket, but did not go into detail. It was Ron's story to tell, if he didn't want to tell all of it, Harry didn't feel he had the right to. Ron nodded gratefully to Harry subtly, unseen by Hermione or Ginny. It felt like hours that they had sat talking together, rehashing the whole year to Ginny. At the end, Harry said, "well, at least we all made it through, together." The couples looked at their significant other, thinking. How many times had they had nightmares that they wouldn't be sitting here, together? At all? They tightened their arms around each other. Ginny was now watching Ron and Hermione with a curious expression on her face.

"A picture would last longer." Hermione said at last. She felt self-conscious, as though Ginny was scrutinizing every part of her.

"Sorry." Ginny mumbled, hastily looking away.

"No, what?" Ron said impatiently. He knew what was coming, Ginny was about to shout him down about being a coward, and although he deserved it, because he was a coward, he wished she wouldn't do it in front of his two best friends. He braced himself for impact. Ginny seemed to contemplate her next words carefully, as she kept opening her mouth, shaking her head almost imperceptibly and then closing her mouth again. Ron chanced a glance at Hermione, who shook her head, looking just as perplexed as he felt. Finally, Ginny opened her mouth, and Ron leaned as far back as he could, fearing the worst.

"It's strange seeing the two of you, together. We knew it was inevitable, but when we talked about it, we always talked about how Fred and George would burst in on you two and tease you non- stop." Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. This was not at all what Ron had been expecting, and he wasn't sure how to respond. "Not that I'm not happy for you two, because, I am. About bloody time. I just wish Fred was here to see it." Before anyone could react, Ron had jumped off the bed and bounded over to her. Harry released his arm around Ginny, and moved to give Ron space. Ron grabbed his sister to him, petting her hair and rocking her back and forth. This was his little sister, and he wanted so badly to stop the pain. He whispered soothing words to her, unsure of what he was actually saying.

"Fred knows, okay? He knew how I felt about Hermione, and I'm sure he knows that I finally plucked up some courage that he always teased me on finding." A shadow of a smile started to form on Ginny's lips, although she was still crying. Ron continued rocking her back and forth. "Crazy, isn't it, how Fred annoyed the crap out of all of us, but we'd take him back in a heartbeat? It's strange how we don't use words to tell someone how much we love them." He looked down at Ginny. "But I know he knows we loved him. Whenever we were in danger, he and George stepped up to the plate. They liked to pretend that they didn't take their big brother roles too seriously, but they couldn't hide it well." He said. Ginny had stopped crying, mopping the side of her eyes with a bit of her shirt.

"You're not too bad yourself." She told Ron, nudging him the ribs. "I know I tease you mercilessly, but I wouldn't trade having you for anything." She and Ron hugged at this, holding each other tightly. When they broke apart, Harry and Hermione were embracing just they had been. "We're family." Ginny said to all of them. At this, the door opened, and Mrs. Weasley stepped in, her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"Everyone's here." She said, her voice breaking, "to celebrate the life of those lost."

A/N: Alright, let me know! If no one reviews, I often feel discouraged. This took a turn at the end I wasn't expecting, but honestly, I feel like it is real. A brother of mine died when I was 6, and sometimes family needs a reminder that although we hate each other a lot, we love each other to the ends of the earth.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry about the wait again, college sometimes gets overwhelming.

Chapter 4

Mrs. Weasley stood there a moment longer, before turning away, trying to hide her sniffles from the children. Harry caught sight of her dabbing the corner of eye with a handkerchief, and tossed a glance towards Ron, who still had an arm around Ginny. He looked down at Ginny's tearstained face, and they nodded solemnly at each other. She pulled away, wiped her eyes, and squared her shoulders. She looked no longer like a tearful sister, but a survivor of the war. Hermione stood now also, and attempted to look as serious as Ginny did. She failed at this attempt, because her eyes still shone with the emotion she was attempting to conceal. Harry and Ron now stood shoulder to shoulder, unmoving. No words were exchanged between them, but they were able to read each other's emotions. Harry did not want to face the families of those who had died so he could continue on. The guilt was already eating him up inside without looking into the faces of the survivors; he didn't know how he would make it through the "party." Ron was barely holding onto his composure. It was one thing to cry in front of his friends and family, and an entirely different situation to cry in front of almost strangers. He wasn't supposed to cry, he was supposed to be a statue that the family could lean on. He had always been that way; the others needed him, and he didn't want to force his needs on the others. They need him first and foremost. Just as he was placing his hand on Harry's shoulder, he felt Harry's hand on his own shoulder. He looked up slowly up, and met Harry's green already looking at him. It was almost like they were searching for understanding, and were attempting to read him. They both nodded their heads almost imperceptibly, as though saying, "I've got your back, and I'm with you all the way." The moment was gone quickly, as they didn't want to draw attention from their girlfriends. Taking a deep breath, Harry's quaky voice said, "Alright, I guess we should make an appearance." Ginny approached slowly and laced her fingers with his. He smiled gratefully at her, and they began to leave the room. Just as they were almost gone, Harry looked back at Hermione and Ron, both of whom hadn't moved since Harry said they should leave. "Are you guys coming?" There was almost a tinge of mirth in his voice, but it was overcast with worry. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other, a shy smile growing on their faces.

"Yeah mate," Ron answered, "just give us a minute. We'll be right behind you." Harry nodded in acknowledgement. After he left, Hermione made her way across the room to Ron.

"Are you okay?" She asked meekly. He was going to answer that of course he was okay, but he couldn't lie to her, not now. Not after everything the pair of them had been through. He shook his head, fighting the tears that were threatening to overwhelm him. Before he knew it, Hermione had thrown herself into his arms, and was hugging him tightly. He couldn't hold back his emotions any longer, and his body shook with sobs. In the past he would have been ashamed to been seen like this, but he could not be ashamed in front of Hermione. She understood to a point exactly what he was feeling. Hermione held onto him tightly as his body shook and quaked, until he had finally calmed down. She soothingly ran a hand up and down his back as he wiped away the last of his tears. His smile was uneasy as he smiled at her, but it was clear that it was true smile. Hermione stood on her tiptoes to give him a peck on the lips. Then she grabbed his hand as Ginny had grabbed Harry's. "We'll help each other through this party, and we will survive this aftermath of the war." They descended their way down into the party, and the unknown.

The downstairs was very much what they had expected. Mrs. Weasley was attempting to be a good hostess, without exposing her own grief. The surviving members of families that suffered loss were congregated in the Burrow. They stood around holding drinks, and conversing. Their eyes looked hollow, and their conversations were more about the weather than about anything of substance. It was surprising that they were even standing, because they looked utterly exhausted. As Ron and Hermione entered, all of those standing around turned towards them. Their eyes were now alight with curiosity. They looked hungry for information, and began approaching them, as though dogs on the hunt. Ron looked hurriedly around for Harry, and spotted him trapped in the corner by more visitors. Hermione was looking just as panicked, as she was attempting to back up farther and farther, almost trapping herself in the corner. Luckily, Mr. Weasley came to their rescue.

"What's going on here?" Ron heard his father's voice saying. He grabbed some of the people gathered in front of Ron and Hermione, and made a pathway to them.

"Well they know exactly what happened. Our loved ones died for the cause they were a large part of. We have a right to ask them anything we want! We sacrificed!" Mr. Weasely's face turned red at this, and a voice that Ron didn't hear often came out of him.

"DON"T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT! MY SON DIED TOO! OR DOES THAT NOT MATTER BECAUSE ANOTHER SON IS HARRY POTTER"S BEST FRIEND?!" He bellowed. Everyone backed up at his words, holding up their hands.

"We didn't mean it like that." They murmured as they backed away. We just want to ask them about what happened."

"I know." Mr. Weasley now responded in his usual gentle voice. "And they will tell you. But they are also grieving, and it's triggering to be cornered after surviving a war where they were always cornered. I'm sure by the end of the night they will be ready to talk to you. Until then, please give them space." They grumbled, but accepted this. Mr. Weasley looked back at Ron and Hermione, a look on his face suggested that he thought he had done a good thing. They were grateful to be not cornered, but he had unwittingly put them in a position that they hadn't anticipated. They now had to tell everyone what happened, without rehearsing, and within a night. Ron and Hermione exchanged a tense look. Harry suddenly appeared next to them out of breath.

"You wouldn't believe what they were saying when they cornered me," 

"- Harry."

"They wanted to know if I was actually the Chosen One, did I hear Voldemort's thought about killing their relatives,"

"- Harry." 

"And when I said no, they pressed harder and harder, and…"

"-HARRY!"

"What?" He looked shocked at the interruption. Now he noticed that the two of them looked extremely tense. "Okay, seriously, now what had happened?" They told him in hushed tones. He looked horrified.

"Oh, damn." They nodded their heads.

"Yeah." 

A/N: The next chapter, they might not tell the whole story, but they might tell a lot of it. Let me know how you feel about this story!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey guys! If you're still out there. Here's the thing, I'm a college student .I update when I can; that could be months, days, or three in a week. I'm sorry about that, but I promise that it'll be worth it! Please review if you like what you read!

Chapter 5

Harry discreetly motioned for the pair to follow him quickly. They exchanged a brief glance before following closely behind him. There was barely any room for privacy as the house was filled with visitors, but this was not something that should be discussed in front of others. They gingerly stepped around others with one shout of "EH! You stepped on my toe!" from an older gentleman at Ron.

"Sorry." He mumbled, blushing. Hermione grabbed his hand and pulled it behind her as she continued to walk. He kept mouthing "sorry." Until he was out of eye sight. "Can't even not be a klutz in my own home." He murmured sadly. At last Harry found a corner in the living room that was somewhat secluded. There were groupings of others there, but there was enough room for the trio to squeeze in. When Ron gave Harry a look that clearly said, "this isn't private, you loon." Hermione pulled out her wand and said quickly,

"_Muffliato." _Harry gave a small grateful smile, then ruffled his already messy hair, sighing.

"What are we going to do?" He wondered out loud, looking around as though the answer might come down and swoop him up.

"Why do we have to do anything?" Ron asked shortly. "We don't owe them anything. In fact, they owe you their lives probably." His arms were crossed over his chest as he said this. Hermione tried her hardest not to roll her eyes at this.

"We do owe them something…" she began, Ron turned away so she turned to Harry instead. "You of all people should know the sacrifices they made to support us. They put themselves at risk without knowing if you were making any progress at all." Harry lowered his eyes to the floor, so she kept pushing. "They deserve to know that their faith was not misplaced." Harry sighed again.

"I know Hermione, okay?! I know what they gave up, but do they really need to know what we went through? The death? The betrayal? Maybe it's better that they don't have to experience the same trauma we had to go through." Hermione's eyes began to tear at the corners, but her face was also reddening.

"That's not up for you to decide Harry! It's not up to you to decide what they can handle! You cannot keep the truth of what we did to yourself. Yes you would be saving them from the trauma of what we went through, but you would cause trauma for the rest of their lives, thinking their loved ones died for nothing!" Her eyes were now full of tears, but there was a look of determination behind the tears. Ron was now facing the pair again, the look on his face was undiscernible. He seemed to be mulling over an idea, he released his arms from over his chest only to grasp his hands. He took a deep breath, before saying in a calm voice,

"Hermione's right, Harry." Harry couldn't control the roll of his eyes at this.

"Of course you would say that right now…" he began, but Ron brushed away the comment.

"Because all those families out there are like mine." Harry's mouth closed at this. "But my family knows what happened, because we told them when we got back. They know that Fred didn't die in vain. Although it doesn't make losing Fred any less painful, it does bring a sense of peace of the reason he did it. We can't deny that to those families out there. Even though it will reveal things I would rather not have others knowing about me… we have to tell them." He was blushing as he finished, but Hermione was beaming at him through tears. Without warning she hugged him, throwing her arms around his neck. Ron wrapped his arms around her back, where they stayed for a long moment. Harry was looking at the two of them, almost contemplating what he was seeing. He shrugged.

"Alright, we tell them, how much do we tell them?" Ron and Hermione shrugged. "We've got about half an hour to decide, so we better start now."

The trio stood nervously in front of the crowd in Weasley Burrow. A few were sitting, most standing. Their eyes were all on the trio, and what light conversations had occurred were now hushed. Harry took a confident step out in front of the other two, his hands behind his back as began,

"Before we tell you our story, there are few things we wanted to get out of the way. No, I did not see Voldemort's" there was an intake of breath, "thoughts on killing your relatives. I have no personal stories of death for you, and I am sorry for that. I cannot tell you the last moments of your loved ones, I wish I could. All I can tell you is what we went through in the last year. We can assure you that we did not leave you all alone in this struggle." Many of the crowd looked disappointed that the trio couldn't tell them anything about their family members. Harry took a step back, and Ron stepped forward.

"Here's a few facts you need to know. Right after the wedding of my brother Bill to Fleur, we fled to Muggle London. We were attacked by Death Eaters there. I know what you're thinking, how did they find us there? Well, Vol—"he stumbled over the name, "Vol—Voldemort's name was taboo, it was a trace and Harry said it. Hermione wiped their memories so they wouldn't remember they had been there. Then we went to the Order of the Phoenix's safe house." Hermione stepped forward now.

"The rumors are true, we went to the Ministry, under polyjuice potion, and took a necklace off of Umbridge. We apparated, Ron got splinched in the process," everyone flinched, "and we ended up in a forest. We traveled for months, hearing bits and pieces of home life. All the while looking for what Dumbledore told us to.

"What was that?!" A voice yelled.

"Horcruxes." Harry supplied, stepping forward again. "And you're looking at one."

A/N: Well, there will be more, chapter 6. But first, let me know what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A stunned silence followed this statement. "I KNEW IT!" a voice yelled, and a man grabbed for Harry's throat. Ron quickly grabbed the back of Harry's jumper and pulled him back. He stepped in front of Harry, Hermione stepping forward to guard the rest of Harry. The man pointed aggressively at Harry's face, breathing heavily. "He was always part of Voldemort! He's the reason my daughter is dead!"

"You idiot!" another yelled, grabbing the man from behind.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" He pulled a fist back to strike, before Mr. Weasley rose up from his seat, his face bright red.

"ENOUGH!" Both men turned to look at him, then at each other and loosened their grip.

"Thanks Dad." Ron said, his arms over his chest. "Don't you two want to know what a Horcrux is anyway before trying to jump someone?" They motioned for him to continue, but Ron looked quickly over at Hermione, who stepped forward and took over.

"A Horcrux is a fragment of a wizard or witch's soul fragment in an object. In order to do this, they have to murder someone. In Voldemort's case he split his soul into seven Horcruxes. Well, eight if you include Harry." She side glanced at Harry. "But no, Harry was not Voldemort, and he was not controlled by Voldemort. A piece of his soul was attached. That's how he talked parseltongue and how he had dreams. It's also how Voldemort was originally defeated." There were looks of confusion on many of the faces in the crowd.

"What does this have to do with anything though?" a timid voice asked from the crowd.

"It's how Voldemort was defeated this time." Harry supplied, still a little shaken up, but squaring his shoulders for any more onslaught. "We— "he turned to acknowledge Ron and Hermione, "found all of the Horcruxes, and destroyed them. We found them through visions and luck." He smiled a small smile, "I can't discuss all the details because it could bring people into harm. But I need everyone to know is that it was not an individual effort. It was a group effort."

"Why did you go to Hogwarts, why did you put the children in danger?" Harry's face fell.

"It was where a Horcrux was. Voldemort simply followed us there. He figured out we were killing off these bits of his soul, and he wanted to stop us." He swallowed hard. "I'm so sorry that your family members were killed. I never wanted people to die for me. I thought that this was between me and him. But it wasn't. It was about our whole world…" he stopped, fighting tears. Ron put a hand on his shoulder, and continued what he knew Harry was going to say.

"Voldemort wanted to kill all of our kind. But, your family members stood up to him. My family stood up to him. And we won. We won a world free of him. A world where my best mate can go about his life without worrying he's going to be killed any second. A world, where I can date that girl I've had a crush on for years," He blushed, "and not worry that telling her would be for nothing, because we'd be killed. Your family members are heroes. Harry may have killed Voldemort, but our family members are the ones who made it possible." Harry looked Ron in the eyes, tears glistening in his eyes. Ron pulled him in for a hug.

"He's right." Said the man who had grabbed for Harry.

"I know." Said the man who had tried to stop him.

"I just miss her so much!" he sobbed. They pulled each other in for a hug. The entire crowd gathered started to hug each other as well. It was the first time that the tone of the meeting had no tension in it. Tears were flowing, but they had some form of release in them. Mrs. Weasley was the one who broke the atmosphere.

"If everyone's ready, George has a display he wants to show us something outside."

A/N: I could have continued, but I feel like the sadness needed to be really examined. Please let me know how it was!


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